The need to reduce fuel consumption and emissions in vehicles is well known. Therefore, vehicles are being developed that reduce or completely eliminate reliance on internal combustion engines. Electrified vehicles are one type of vehicle currently being developed for this purpose. In general, electrified vehicles differ from conventional motor vehicles because they are selectively driven by one or more battery powered electric machines. Conventional motor vehicles, by contrast, rely exclusively on an internal combustion engine to drive the vehicle.
Electrified vehicle powertrains are typically equipped with a high voltage battery having a plurality of battery cells that store electrical power for powering the electric machines and other electric loads. During certain vehicle fault conditions, the high voltage battery may be intentionally disconnected from the vehicle's high voltage electrical bus, thereby resulting in the loss of vehicle motive power.